Smoothed bootstrap Malmquist index based on DEA model to compute productivity of tax offices

This paper analyses the productivity growth of the SUMA tax offices located in Spain evolved between 2004 and 2006 by using Malmquist Index based on Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) models. It goes a step forward by smoothed bootstrap procedure which improves the quality of the results by generalising the samples, so that the conclusions obtained from them can be applied in order to increase productivity levels. Additionally, the productivity effect is divided into two different components, efficiency and technological change, with the objective of helping to clarify the role played by either the managers or the level of technology in the final performance figures.

La innovación en las estrategias para la captación de franquiciados

La investigación parte de la hipótesis de que las empresas franquiciadoras españolas innovan en estrategias de comunicación en relación con uno de sus principales públicos objetivo: los potenciales franquiciados. El objetivo de este artículo es analizar las estrategias de comunicación desarrolladas por estas empresas para la captación de nuevos asociados. Se estudia la gestión y la valoración de las estrategias por parte de los franquiciadores en la situación actual de crisis y de cambios tecnológicos. Se han utilizado tanto técnicas cualitativas como cuantitativas. Como conclusión se determina si las empresas utilizan estrategias innovadoras sirviéndose del uso de nuevos medios y soportes o por el contrario siguen utilizando métodos tradicionales.

Overcoming resistance to change in business innovation processes

This paper summarizes the experience gained in dealing with resistance to change appeared in the companies when they develop innovative processes related to the adoption of new technologies, tools, equipment, infrastructure and methodologies. Technological innovation is rapidly absorbed by society on a personal level. But at the enterprise level, resistance to innovation can occur at any hierarchical level of the company and may appear with different intensity. Depending on the type of enterprise, the hierarchical level of the employee, the intensity of resistance and other factors, the measures taken are different. In this paper we summarize our experience in the cataloging of the resistance to innovation in terms of impact on workers and showing how technology education and business training can help overcome these resistance forces. This paper describes the experience acquired over 22 projects deployed in the period 2005 to 2011 and that has affected a total of 264 workers of different cultural, technological, business and hierarchical levels.